Report on Thabametsi Mine and Power Plant Modeling

The report concludes that the combined operation of the proposed Thabametsi power plant with the existing Matimba and Medupi plants would cause SO2 concentrations to exceed South Africa's health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) at several receptor locations. While NOx and PM2.5 emissions from the plants alone might not exceed standards due to stack dilution, the report finds they will likely cause exceedances when added to existing baseline pollution from mobile sources and the Grootegeluk Mine. Additionally, the author argues that PM2.5 emissions from the proposed Thabametsi mine were significantly underestimated in previous reports by at least a factor of five, likely leading to significant impacts on locations to the south-west.

• Combined emissions of SO2 from the proposed Thabametsi power plant and the existing Matimba and Medupi plants are predicted to exceed South Africa's National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) at some receptor locations, even without considering other emission sources.
• While NOx and PM2.5 emissions from the power plants alone may not exceed ambient standards due to dilution from tall stacks, they are expected to cause NAAQS exceedances when added to baseline levels already near maximum limits from mobile sources and the Grootegeluk Mine.
• The author concludes that PM2.5 and PM10 impacts from the proposed Thabametsi mining activities are likely to be significant for locations to the south-west.
• The report asserts that PM2.5 emissions for the Thabametsi mine were underestimated by at least five times in a September 2012 report by Airshed Planning Professionals (Pty) Ltd, citing a lack of spatial distribution data and overly optimistic mitigation assumptions.
• Baseline air quality data from 2009 to 2011 at the Marapong monitoring station showed that annual average PM10 (51 μg/m³) and PM2.5 (43 μg/m³) concentrations already exceeded current ambient standards of 40 μg/m³ and 20 μg/m³, respectively.
• The report notes a critical lack of accurate air pollution measurement in the area due to an insufficient number of air monitors and poor siting of existing ones.

APA

Sahu, R. (., & Gray, A. (2018). Report on Thabametsi Mine and Power Plant Modeling. Centre for Environmental Rights. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Annexure-3-Thabametsi-Sahu-Report-3.23.18-Sahu-Signed.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Sahu, Ranajit (Ron), and Andrew Gray. Report on Thabametsi Mine and Power Plant Modeling. Centre for Environmental Rights, 2018. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Annexure-3-Thabametsi-Sahu-Report-3.23.18-Sahu-Signed.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sahu |first1=Ranajit (Ron) |last2=Gray |first2=Andrew |title=Report on Thabametsi Mine and Power Plant Modeling |publisher=Centre for Environmental Rights |date=23 March 2018 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Annexure-3-Thabametsi-Sahu-Report-3.23.18-Sahu-Signed.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sahu2018report, author = {Sahu, Ranajit (Ron) and Gray, Andrew}, title = {{Report on Thabametsi Mine and Power Plant Modeling}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2018}, month = mar, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Annexure-3-Thabametsi-Sahu-Report-3.23.18-Sahu-Signed.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }